Undergarment



F. J. PRUE.

UNDERGARMENT.

APPLICATION mw AuG.29. 1.919.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921..

N HIHIllllllllllmllllllll VPATENT oFFlcE.

FRANK J. PNUE, or WooNsooKn'r, RHODE ISLAND.-

Y UNDEBGARMEN T.

Application filed August 29, 1919.

To @ZZ whom t may conocia.' s

Be it known that I, FRANK J. FRUE, a citizen of the United States, residing at lvoonsocket, in the county ofV Trovidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Undergarment, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an undergarment of the onepiece type; the principal objects, thereof, are to provide a`construction which can be made of the usual tubular goods and will be so constructed that it will dispense with the excessive number of buttons, which are characteristic of the ordinary union-suit, and replace the same by a single fastening device located most conveniently, and sol arranged with respect to the rest of the garment that the wearer simply steps into it in putting it on in the same way as is usual in putting on a pair of trousers, and then brings the two Vedges together at the back of the neck and fastens them there in one place only; to provide a construction to hold the entire garment in place effectively and without permitting of any openings through the garment in the vicinity 'of the fastening device; to provide a construction in which the front or chest portion shall be undivided and can be modified by the addition of another thickness if desired so as to furnish a more efiicient protector for the chest and abdomen if desired; and to provide an arrangement by which the space across the front between the arm holes, shall be shorter than that across the back between .the arm holes, so that the garment will it comfortably at these points and give full play to the arms.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure '1 is a front view of a one-piece under garment constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a front view of a modification;

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 4-4 in. Figs. 1 and 3 of the front of the garment.

The garment preferably is made from tubular goods as is well understood in this art, although that is not necessary. The lower part needs no special description as the main portion and both legs are continuous with the top part. There is a hori- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

Serial No. 320,675.

zontal seam 10 below the waist line between them for atta-ching the top of the front fly iiap 11 and inner fiap not shown. The usual opening infront is formed by these flaps. The front flap is bounded by a seam 12.

On the rear, is a seam 13 extending up wardly from the inner side of the left leg to a horizontal seam 111 at or above the waist line. The opening at the front eX- tends through to and is bounded by a flap 15 which terminates at the seam 14 and the Hap 16 underneath is similarly connected with the above-mentioned inner flap as is well understood in this art.

At the top of the flap 15, which is sewed down at this point by the seam 14 to the thickness underneath, another flap 17-19 extends upwardly outside. This is sewed down at the line 1&1 and is free from there to the top. This iiap is shown as made in two pieces, but can be made in any desired way. It is to be noted that the back 18 which eX- tends under this flap 17-19 is sewed to it for a considerable distance horizontally along the seam 14: and terminates along a vertical central seam to which a triangular flap is secured extending to an edge 26, well under the flap 19 when the garment is on the person andbuttoned up. This provides a wide overlap for the two parts 17 and 18. The rear flaps at the top start on either side at the hip or waistline and overlap sufficiently so that when fastened at the top, a single fastening will keep them fully closed. These flaps are connected together along the horizontal line below. At the top they are connected together by a fastening device of any desired kind but shown as in the form of a button 2O and buttonhole and this is the only fastening device on the garment.

This device permits of the making of the front or chest of the garment entirely without seams as shown at 21 in Fig. 1. I have shown in this figure a double thickness terminated by a seam 22 for the upper part of the chest.

It is to be observed that the distance between the armholes 23 across the chest is shorter than the distance between them across the back. This can be provided for conveniently as shown, by cutting each armhole at the back substantially straight up from the bottom of the armhole and cutting it on a concave curve at the front. This is feasible on account of the continuous chest 2l and the widely overlapping flaps von the back7 and -permits of the free use of the' arms `without binding or wrinkling. In other words, without introducing too much fullness across the front. v

In the' form shown in Fig. 3, the 'only modification is that the reinforcing inner chest piece 24 extends clear down'below the Waist line to the'seam 25 and we then have a double protecting member, not only for the chest, as in Fig. l, but Aalso for 'the abdomen. Y

In the use of :the device, all the wearer has to do is to open the suit at the back by means of the fastening at 20 and to step into the suit, pull it up, insert the arms into the openings 23 lor sleeves if they are used, and then fasten it at the back at 2O in one place only. This is a very simple operation compared with that that would be required to button it if it were buttoned up in front. Furthermore, all openings in the front are dispensed with, thus making the front, even in the form with one thicknesswonly, a real chest protector.

By arranging the seams between the main parts of the back and the two parts 19 and 17 of the overlapping flap so that the tops and bottoms of said seams will register, it Will be obvious that the pull due to wearing the garment, and especially any pull due to the Wearers bending over, will be tra-nsV mitted along these seams and applied at the vsame point. As these seams are practically vertical such a pull will have no real tendency to open the garment at the back either above the seam 14 or below it.

Although I have illustrated and described only two forms of my invention, I am aware of the fact that many modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope thereof, as expressed in the claim.

' Therefore I do not Wish to be limited to all the details herein shown and described, but what I do claim is Y As an article of manufacture a one-piece undergarment having a continuous front or Y chest portion without openings therein and lia-vino' an o eninfT in the baci-z bounded bv b D l overlapping' front' and rear flaps both continuous and integral Yall the way from the neck to the crotch, a single fastening device therefor at the to-p of said flaps in the 'back above, the outer and inner overlapping flaps Vacross the back near the waistline, said seam vsecuring the other of said flaps to the insideV of the back of the main body.V Y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature. Y y

FRANK J'. PRUE. 

